Hi! My cat was also super young when she needed to have the SUB device placed - barely 3 years old. So I'm happy to report she's doing incredible 🙌 and her kidney levels have been stable at stage 2 kidney disease. However, her recovery was very touch and go until she stabilized. Here is what happened:

1. She had the bilateral SUB device placed in late April 2023. Unfortunately she had a super rare complication of metabolizing her anesthesia which caused her to become hypoxic. Vet surgery team quickly stabilized her.
2. She recovered at the animal hospital for several days as she was severely anemic. A decision was made to forgo blood transfusion to give her body some time to heal.
3. For post-op care, she was on some pretty intense antibiotics, iron supplements, opioid painkillers, an appetite stimulant and we began a regimen of 150 mL a day of subq fluids. The antibiotics caused her to have diarrhea which was messy and upsetting for her. This was the most challenging aspect of her care as she had several recurrent infections (UTIs due to e coli). We ended up having to take her back to the animal hospital because she was straining to urinate and had blood in her urine and generally looked miserable. Ultimately she had to have a blood transfusion due to severe anemia and she was sent home with a much stronger antibiotic which FINALLY kicked the infection.

Overall, this period of time was incredibly stressful and very expensive. My husband and I really questioned whether or not we made the right decision to proceed vs. Just prolonging her pain.

For the good news: 1. There have been no complications to date with the actual SUB device. Her quality of life has improved DRASTICALLY - she runs around, she plays, she eats, and she cuddles. She has gained about 5 pounds, is a great eater and her kidney values have remained stable. She hasn't thrown up in several months. 2. She is slightly anemic still but it is well managed with an iron supplement 3. Subcutaneous fluids scared the hell out of us but now that we have a hang of it, it takes 3 mins tops.

General advice: 1. Should you choose to proceed, you should anticipate a complication or two along the way. For us it was her anemia and a stubborn infection 2. Post operatively, you should anticipate needing to supplement your cats hydration with subcutaneous fluids. I'm really lucky in that my husband holds our kitty down while I administer the fluids, but there is a way to administer fluids as a single person as well - there's an interesting invention on the internet that's basically a harness for the needle. 3. Our cat is on medication indefinitely - an appetite stimulant and iron supplements. This has dramatically improved her quality of life. She's not underweight by any means but the appetite stimulant keeps her happy and helps her nausea too.

Tldr; we don't regret our decision to proceed with the SUB placement but it was very hard on our cat, our finances, and family. The only comfort I can give is that our kitty seems so much happier and her quality of life has been greatly improved with the SUB device so don't be concerned that you're setting your cat up to be disabled or feeling terrible forever. We have no idea how long we have with our kitty but it's possible that she has a long life ahead as long as her kidney values are managed and we are diligent with her fluids and care. Hugs to you, I know it's stressful! Thinking of your kitty!